Opening a merchant account is easy. A little too easy. It only takes a few minutes to hunt down and get approved for a merchant account online. Unfortunately, this no contract needed easy approval approach to getting a merchant account often leads to scamming due to a lack of proper research. The ease and convenience is generally not worth the headache and stress in the long run. So, how do you avoid getting thousands of dollars of your own money taken from you by dishonest companies? It helps to know what to look for and be prepared with adequate knowledge beforehand. With this in mind, we have taken the time to make this easy on you with a few tips for finding the perfect merchant account.
Understand the Rates and Fees
The first thing you need to understand when it comes to finding the perfect merchant account is the fees and rates associated with these accounts. A mistake in the payment processing industry can be costly so it pays to do your research. Know the market well enough to know the difference between a fair price and a rip-off.
Know Your Needs
It is incredibly difficult to make a good decision if you do not even know your own company’s needs. Know what kind of payment processing you need and whether or not your industry is considered a high-risk factor. Identifying your needs and then compiling a list of prospective companies will help you make an informed decision on the perfect merchant account that will best suit your companies needs.
Know Your Security Needs
Security is a need regardless of how you do your payment processing. Fraudsters are always adapting to new security measures and as such you need a merchant account that takes every measure possible to ensure your companies assets are safe. Understanding and communicating your PCI compliance needs to your payment processing company will ensure that your security needs are met. This will help you avoid any security breach and being put at the mercy of fraudsters. Ultimately, you need to find a merchant account that will help you protect yourself.
Don’t be too Eager to Sign Up with a Merchant Account Provider
You want to make sure that you are not too quick to sign up with a particular provider. The credit card processing industry is incredibly competitive and it is a good idea to get more than one company competing for your business before you sign up with anyone. This will help you get the lowest price possible that will best benefit your company in the long run.
Disclose Everything When You Sign Up
It can be tempting to not provide all the information up front in order to make the application process move more quickly. However, disclosing everything when you sign up will help you avoid serious consequences in the long run. If a payment processing company sees what they perceive as a questionable activity, your account could be frozen, cash reserves held back or your account even terminated. It may seem like a nuisance at the time, but disclosing everything up front will help you avoid an unnecessary headache in the long run.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Once you have found the perfect merchant account, the work for maintaining a good relationship with your payment processing company is not done. You need to make sure that you are continuing to communicate throughout the life of your professional relationship. Communicating things like an increase in sales or inventory will ensure that you maintain a strong working relationship and that there is no freeze in cash flow. Communication is key to the ongoing strength of a perfect merchant account.
